{"id":197413,"date":"2026-01-06T16:15:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T14:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/?p=197413"},"modified":"2026-01-06T16:20:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T14:20:02","slug":"christmas-message-of-patriarch-porfirije-overcome-divisions-embrace-and-extend-a-hand-to-one-another-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/christmas-message-of-patriarch-porfirije-overcome-divisions-embrace-and-extend-a-hand-to-one-another-video\/","title":{"rendered":"CHRISTMAS MESSAGE OF PATRIARCH PORFIRIJE: \u201eOvercome divisions, embrace and extend a hand to one another\u201c (VIDEO)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Porfirije, in his Christmas message congratulated the faithful on Christmas and pointed out that it is a holiday of peace when we should overcome divisions and extend a hand to one another. He emphasized that today, more than ever, humanity needs to return to the source of peace that is not imposed by force but is discovered in humility, in love that “seeks not its own.” The Patriarch says that neither the crises of our time, nor wars, nor the loss of trust, can be the final measure of human life nor the last word about man.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201eInto the light and life in peace and harmony, inspired by the supra-rational joy of Christmas and Christ’s peace, we invite everyone to overcome divisions, to embrace one another, to extend a hand to one another, to understand that we are, in a word, necessary to each other. For the Christian faith does not teach us to wait for better times in a time of crisis, but to ourselves become living signs of the future Kingdom of God \u2013 people who already live differently, who do not heal fear with fear nor hatred with hatred,\u201c stated Patriarch Porfirije.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He pointed out that the situation in Serbia is currently complex and difficult because, as he stated, internal political tensions have led to deep division in society and mistrust among people, and differences in opinion are increasingly turning into irrational hatred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201eThe loss of national and cultural identity is particularly worrying, as it calls into question the continuity of the historical and spiritual self-understanding of our people, and yet it cannot be explained exclusively by external influences. Along with this come economic uncertainty and demographic decline: Serbia is facing a distinctly negative natural growth rate and, consequently, one of the fastest depopulations in the world, as well as an increasingly pronounced aging of the population,\u201c Patriarch Porfirije emphasizes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two messages of the birth of Christ<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

He pointed to two messages of Christ’s birth \u2013 that God became man for us and for our salvation, and that every person, precisely because of that, can and should become our brother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201eFor only in Christ, the Firstborn among many brothers, do we regain the other as our neighbor and brother. Therefore, before the mystery of the Birth of Christ, God’s question is posed to each of us again, as old as humanity itself: Where is your brother? Not where is your interest, nor where is your side, nor where is your party, nor \u2013 ultimately \u2013 where are you yourself, alienated and focused only on yourself, but \u2013 where is the man given to you so that, by loving him, you pass from death to life. That and only that is our basic question and our central task, this and every other Christmas,\u201c Porfirije said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Necessary for humanity to return to the source of peace<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

He emphasized that today, more than ever, humanity needs to return to the source of peace that is not imposed by force but is discovered in humility, in love that “seeks not its own” and in a relationship that builds trust, community, and respect for every person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201eWe live in a time of ever-deepening religious, ethnic, and cultural divisions, in a world in which geopolitical tensions are constantly growing and in which wars are becoming an increasingly frequent means for solving economic and political conflicts. The change in the global order and the struggle of the great powers for supremacy give birth to instability, security crises, and fear of an uncertain future,\u201c Porfirije stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to him, economic uncertainty, inflation, growing inequality, poverty, hunger, and the uncontrolled exhaustion of natural resources are added to this, while technological transformations bring new ethical dilemmas and give birth to digital isolation, an apparent presence without real community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201eAll this leads to a crisis of trust in institutions and the media, to the relativization of truth, to an increase in anxiety and loneliness, and even to a loss of the meaning of life for many people today. And therefore many of us welcome this holy night and this holy day with restlessness in our hearts, worrying for the children and their future, for our daily bread, for health, for tomorrow,\u201c stated Porfirije.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n